Lady Amelia's Mess and a Half (33 page)

Jake escorted her to the door and down the stairs. They wove through the bookshelves to reach the exit. Outside on the sidewalk, they paused.

Fine lines appeared on Amelia’s forehead. “Are you all right?”

He considered her question. If he had been privy to the same information several months ago, he would have answered with a belligerent no. But then he’d not had Amelia. Now, everything he had always wanted was within his reach. He wouldn’t feed a resentment that no longer served anyone.

Looking down at her, he pretended to frown. “I’m afraid I will never be all right again.”

Her eyes expanded. “Oh?”

“I’ve been struck by a serious illness,” he said with the appropriate level of graveness. “And I hear there is no cure for love sickness.”

“Love sickness, you say? That is serious.” Amelia slanted a delightfully wicked smile at him. “But you’re in luck, Mr. Hillary, for I hear the treatments for this particular illness are rather pleasurable.”

“I fear I shall require many.”

She chuckled softly, a warm blush coloring her cheeks. “I just bet you do, Mr. Hillary.”

With Amelia by his side and a bounce in his step, he guided them away from the bookstore and toward the future that should have been theirs years ago.

Jake led Amelia into the hotel chamber and closed the door. She removed her bonnet and gloves then placed them on the gilded entry table. Turning, she looked up at him with resplendent blue eyes. Her tentative pink tongue wet her lips, igniting the passion that had been a smoldering fire inside him for the past few weeks.

“Come here, sweetheart.” His voice had taken on a rough quality.

She walked into the circle of his arms and laid her cheek against his chest. He caressed her from hip to nape before searching for the pins securing her hair. One by one, he pulled them from her silken locks until her curls tumbled down her back.

Pressing her hands against his chest, she eased from his embrace. “I should lock the door.”

Jake released her, but immediately regretted the loss of her warmth. He followed in her path and trapped her against the smooth surface of the door as she turned the key. Fitting their bodies together, he splayed his hand across her belly. Amelia trembled in his arms; the splendid curve of her bottom lightly cradled him.

“Mia,” he said on an exhale.

He trailed one hand over hers, along the underside of her arm, brushed his knuckles against the side of her breast, and continued to her hip. How he hungered for her, to once again explore her silken skin beneath her gown. To slide his fevered flesh against hers.

Her gossamer hair wisped over his cheek as she turned her head. Sweeping her curtain of hair aside, he grazed his lips along her tender neck and took her velvety earlobe between his teeth. She sighed and melted under his touch, molding her body more firmly to his.

“I love you,” he whispered. His kisses elicited a shiver and sensual moan from her that almost undid him. She arched her back on another sigh, dropping her head to rest against his shoulder. Desire streaked through his limbs like lightning and with as much impact.

Allowing his lustful urgings free rein at last, he captured her breast and buried his face in her fragrant hair.

Hyacinth.
That was her scent, sweet and intoxicating.

Her breath caught in ragged gasps, and she squirmed; each movement shot pleasurable waves through him. He closed his eyes on a groan as he smoothed his hand over the swell of her breast, her corset barring his access.

She turned in his embrace and twined her arms around his neck. His fingers tangled in her hair and he lightly pulled to tip her face up. Amelia’s lips parted on a gasp, and he kissed her, sliding his tongue into the moist sweetness of her mouth. She lovingly met his kisses and caressed his tongue, battering the last of his restraint.

Sweeping her into his arms, he carried her to the bed and placed her on the edge. He lowered to one knee and removed each slipper before inching her skirts over her thighs to seek out the ties of her drawers. His breath came in hard pants as he fought back the urge to take her as he wished. Barely controlled lust battled with his desire to be tender.

Holding her hands, he coaxed her to stand and turn her back to him so he could work the fastenings of her gown. Each newly bared inch of skin received a soft kiss.

“Too slow,” she said on a breath.

His fingers tightened on her dress. “Patience, my love.” He placed another teasing kiss on her back before easing the gown off her shoulders. The muslin floated down her body to land at her feet.

“I don’t want to be patient.
Hurry
.”

Her command broke through his control, and he tugged on the strings of her corset, unlacing her with increasing fervor.

Once she wore nothing but her chemise, she spun in his arms and grabbed at his cravat. “Come here.”

Her eyes darkened to a stormy sea blue as she played his harried valet. Shoving his jacket down his arms and grasping at his waistcoat, she met him in a battle of lips. Her unbridled kisses tasted of desperation as her tongue darted into his mouth, bold and determined. He followed her lead, entangling his fingers in her locks and slanting her head to accept his exploration. Good Lord, she couldn’t have been more welcoming if she had thrown a party in his honor.

The feel of Amelia, her passion. This was what he had been missing. Partly.

He broke the kiss, both of them panting. When she reached for him again, he held her back. “Tell me you love me too.” Desire saturated his voice, making it deeper. He needed to hear her speak the words.

“I do,” she whispered before showering his face with kisses. “I love you, Jake. I have always loved you.”

Her lush frame shuddered in his arms as their lips met again. He swallowed her sweet sentiments, his heart beating with revived energy.

As he lifted her, she wrapped her legs around him, binding them together. Jake collapsed on the bed, catching his weight on his elbows with Amelia entrapped below him. The soft cotton of her chemise brushed against his chest, but he wanted to feel her skin.

Hauling the hem of her undergarment, he shimmied it up her body, peeled it over her head, and bared her breasts. Her arms became bound above her head, ensnared by the material, and Jake took full advantage of her position. His tongue feathered across her nipple, eliciting a sharp intake of breath. He smiled and blew across the hardened flesh.

“Jake.” She wriggled beneath him.

“Not now, sweetheart. I’m preoccupied,” he teased before drawing his tongue slowly across the tip until a soft whimper slipped past her lips. Her hips twisted and her soft curls brushed against his belly.

“Good God,” he groaned. His shaft ached with desire, and he pressed his hips into the bedding to ease his pain. He had missed her so much over these last weeks, and he wished to be like this with her for as long as possible, drawing out their lovemaking, but he didn’t know if he could hold himself in check much longer.

Closing his mouth over her breast, he circled the hardened bud until soft cries of pleasure emanated from her as musical as a siren’s song. He pulled back to admire his beautiful wife-to-be. Her body shimmered under the late afternoon sunlight, her skin dewy and luxuriant.

She squirmed free of her bindings and buried her fingers in his hair, guiding him back to her breast. Jake chuckled as he kissed a trail to her other breast and lavished the nipple with the same heart-stopping results. Amelia’s lusty murmurings ignited an inferno inside him. His fingers sought out her hot center and brushed across liquid silk.

“Are you ready for me, Mia?”

“Yes,” she gasped as he dipped a finger inside her. When she tightened around him, a soft moan rose up in his throat.

Amelia captured his face, urged him closer, and kissed him. Their mouths lingered together, sharing the same breath.

“I want you,” she whispered, “under me.”

Jake’s smile widened. “You shall have me however you wish, my love.”

***

Amelia’s heart pounded looking into Jake’s lush blue-green eyes, his love for her unguarded and offered without conditions. She ran a gentle hand across his shadowed jaw, the roughness so pleasant beneath her fingers. “I love you, too,” she whispered.

Grasping both wrists, she shoved his arms above his head and leaned her weight against them when he halfheartedly strained against her. “Amelia!”

“No, I shall have you as I wish.”

A wicked grin stretched across his handsome face as he relaxed into the bedding. “Yes, milady.”

Easing her leg across his waist, she perched atop him. His hardened ridge pressed against her sensitive flesh, and Amelia closed her eyes on a sigh. She slid her body along his, drawing out the moment, intent on driving him to the brink as he had done to her.

When she looked down, his chest heaved with rapid breaths, and his eyes had darkened to a midnight sky.

Jake broke free of her hold and seized her hips. “I’m sorry, but I must have you now.”

He guided her on him and quaked beneath her. Amelia’s heart beat against her breastbone. Smiling down at him, she set a steady rhythm, and then, at his urging, raced faster. He sat up, drawing her against his chest, his hands cupping the back of her head and bottom to move her with him. She clung to him, kissing him wherever her lips wandered—his forehead, his cheek, his strong jaw, his corded neck.

His hand covered her breast, his thumb rubbing across the rigid plane of her nipple. A spark of pleasure shot to her center, and she dropped her head back to savor the feeling. Warm tingles infused her body as he continued his play with her breasts and his lips found her neck.

“Are you close?” he murmured.

Amelia swallowed hard and nodded. Everything coiled tight within her as Jake slid deep inside her then withdrew in short strokes. A haze of lust clouded his gaze.

“Come with me,” she urged.

A low rumble sounded in his chest, the erotic sound pushing her over the edge. She cried out as she soared upward, Jake with her, his voice intertwined with hers. As they reached the apex, they held tightly to one another, neither letting go as they stilled, every ounce of breath rushing from them, before unhurriedly drifting back to solid ground once more.

Even then, they held on to one another. Jake stretched out on the bed and curled her against his side, his warm limbs tangled with hers.

“Never let me go,” she pleaded as sleep threatened to overtake her.

He nuzzled her hair and placed a kiss there. “Never again.”

***

The next morning Amelia lowered into a cushioned chair and blinked against the bright sunlight pouring through the window of the sleeping chamber. The cheerful room with its yellow walls and floral paintings reflected her hopeful mood. She was free to marry the man she’d loved for so long.

Last night, she and Jake had remained intertwined in each other’s arms and basked in their joy at beginning a new life together. They had spoken of their child and dreams for his future. The last thing she remembered was the midnight chime of the clock on the mantle before blissful oblivion overtook her. Jake lay tangled in the sheets, his bare limbs lax while he still slumbered.

Audley’s journal rested on the side table and caught her eye. Lifting it, she brushed her palm over the worn cover. Such an innocuous object from the looks of it, but the words inside provided a glimpse into her husband’s troubled soul.

Many times during their marriage, and for some time after his death, she had wished to read Audley’s mind. Now that she had the opportunity to understand him better, she no longer cared.

She lifted the journal and tested its weight. It was odd how things that had once seemed of great importance had lost significance with the passing of time. Pushing up from the chair, she carried the book to the fire grate, placed it inside, and retrieved a tinderbox. The pages caught slowly, the edges turning black and shrinking, until the flames grew and began to devour Audley’s words inch by inch.

“Good morning, sweetheart.”

Amelia turned with a smile at the sound of Jake’s voice.

This was all that mattered now: Jake, their growing family, and her freedom to love and be loved in return.

Jake pressed his chin against the stack of books balanced in his arms as he teetered up the gangplank. Amelia had chosen more than enough reading materials to last throughout the return voyage, which meant one thing. Her flood of tears and guilty conscience last night were not a fleeting symptom of her being with child.

In a desperate attempt to calm her, he had agreed with her suggestion to wait until they married to consummate their relationship again. Although he had agreed they deserved a fresh start, the one they would have had if not for Audley, he had made his pledge based on the belief she would be rational today. Apparently, he had learned nothing in his five-and-twenty years. Women were unpredictable creatures.

Had Daniel’s New Orleans connections been able to procure a marriage license, he would not be in this predicament. And since his brother had his own matters to attend to before they sailed again, Jake hadn’t asked for assistance. Now he wished he had imposed on Daniel.

Jake groaned under his breath. There was no way he could survive the return voyage without making love to Amelia, especially with her emerging curves. Gads. He had lost all concentration and stopped speaking midsentence at dinner last night when she had leaned forward and revealed her newly enhanced bust. He would find a way to convince her to reconsider.

He glanced up as he navigated the wooden walkway. Amelia stood at the top, her brow wrinkled.

“You won’t drop them, will you?” she asked. “I’m looking forward to reading each and every one. I will require
something
to keep me occupied on this long, long voyage.”

He didn’t require any reminders as to the length of their journey. “I won’t drop them,” he bit out.

Amelia tossed her head before waving her hand in the air. “Oh, Mr. Patch, would you lend your assistance?”

Jake scowled at the mention of the other man’s name. It seemed the bloody giant followed Amelia everywhere these days like a loyal puppy. He had been escorting her on shopping trips in which Jake had been excluded—likely selecting the largest books they could find—and the two disappeared for hours. The sooner they reached London, the better. Otherwise, Jake might abandon all good sense and challenge the brute to a round of fisticuffs, which would surely end badly for him.

He shifted the stack to Patch’s waiting arms once he stepped aboard the
Cecily
.

Amelia smiled. “Please carry them to my cabin, Mr. Patch. You know the way.”

With the man out of earshot, Jake gently grasped her arm to guide her to the quarterdeck. “You needn’t make it sound as if the man has visited your cabin repeatedly.”

Amelia tilted her head and gazed at him with innocent eyes. “But he
has
visited my cabin repeatedly. Do you not recall the voyage over—?”

“
Yes
, and please keep your voice down, sweetheart.” The hurried movements around them didn’t cease, so he doubted anyone overheard their conversation, but it was the principle of the matter.

“I don’t wish to give anyone the impression you… How should I say this? Well, that you are not mine.”

Amelia chuckled and swatted his arm. “Oh, that is ridiculous.”

Her infectious laughter melted his tension, and he too laughed at his show of jealousy.

She shrugged one shoulder. “To say I am
yours
as if I were an object to own, like a new cravat or waistcoat. You are a silly man.”

Jake’s jaw dropped, but before he could utter any protest, her attention shifted elsewhere.

“Oh, look. Ladies and a young boy.”

He turned toward the gangplank where she pointed and spotted a young woman dressed in mourning clothes holding the hand of a boy half her height. A willowy woman of regal bearing and expensive attire followed behind them.

Amelia clapped her hands and issued a delighted squeal. “It seems my presence onboard has loosened Captain Hillary’s strict standards of no women on the ship. I do hope the ladies are friendly. I have much need for female companionship on the trip.”

“Don’t we all,” he grumbled.

“Pardon?” She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “Oh, it matters not. I shall make the young women’s acquaintance before going below deck for a rest. You will be all right up here alone, won’t you?”

He spread his arms wide. “I’m not a child, my dear. Do I not seem perfectly fine to be alone?”

Amelia patted his lapel and clucked her tongue. “You seem a bit surly, actually. Perhaps you should have a rest in Captain Hillary’s quarters.” With that said, she whisked away to speak with the newest travelers.

Hellfire
and
damnation!
The situation was worse than he had imagined. Amelia no longer viewed him as a man with certain urges and needs, but had begun to see him as a child prone to tantrums and in need of naps. He spun on his heel and stormed into Daniel’s cabin.

His brother glanced up from his logs, a half smirk twisting his lips. “Where’s Amelia?”

Jake helped himself to the liquor decanter. “Greeting the passengers.” He sloshed the amber rum into a tumbler and sipped, studying Daniel over the rim of the glass. “You’ve allowed a lady and her child to travel on the
Cecily
?”

His head snapped up. “She’s here?”

“If you refer to a female dressed in all black and a raven-haired slip of a boy at her side, then yes, they have arrived.”

Daniel shoved from the table and stalked to the door. “I should see the passengers safely to their quarters.”

For the love of God, even Daniel had changed in New Orleans. It was as if someone had placed a voodoo curse on his betrothed and brother. Neither of them resembled the people they had been when the ship had sailed from London.

Jake made his way to an armchair that hadn’t been in Daniel’s quarters on the first leg of the voyage and plopped down. His eyes felt gritty, so he leaned his head against the seat back and closed them, listening to the noises outside. Through the jumble of voices, the haunting call of the seagulls floated in the background, soothing his ruffled temper.

A gentle breeze drifted through the open window and caressed his hot cheeks, lessening his irritation even more. The ship swayed gently back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth.

A loud bang startled him and Jake jumped from the chair. He glanced around, unsure where he was.

“Wake up, you pampered mama’s boy,” Daniel called from the doorway.

Jake blinked as he realized where he was and that he had indeed drifted to sleep.

The ship’s rocking was more pronounced and steady.

“We’ve lifted anchor?” Jake asked.

“Three hours past.”

Jake’s gaze landed on the windows along the ship’s aft where overgrown vines outside tried to choke out the trees and trailed toward the water. New Orleans was long behind them, it seemed.

He stretched his arms overhead and uttered a groaning sigh.

Daniel lifted a brow. “For God’s sake, Jakie, you stink. Get cleaned up. You haven’t much time.”

“Time for what?” he grumbled.

“Amelia is serving luncheon in her quarters. So, either you can make yourself presentable, or I will drag your smelly arse below deck as is. Either way, you
are
attending.”

“Ha, ha. You are hilarious.”

Daniel snatched a cloth from the table and threw it at him. “I’m serious about the luncheon. And consider it a favor that I advised you to wash up ahead of time. There is a basin with fresh water in the sleeping chamber.”

Jake trudged toward the door to the sleeping chambers. “But in her quarters? It’s minuscule compared to here.”

“She wishes to surprise you. Will you please get a move on it? And act surprised or else.”

Jake shrugged, the beginning of a smile pulling at his lips. He could act any way she wished.

“And don the attire laid out on my bed,” Daniel added.

Jake didn’t offer any more arguments and hurried to make himself presentable.

A few minutes later, he and Daniel stood outside Amelia’s cabin. Jake rapped harder than he intended, and the door flew open. He drew back.

A man dressed in robes stood in the doorway. Jake looked around the narrow passageway, certain he had knocked on the wrong door. He didn’t recall seeing a clergyman on the initial voyage, but he hadn’t checked under the bed either.

“Mr. Hillary, welcome. Lady Audley awaits.”

Jake spotted Amelia beyond the man’s shoulder. She wore an ivory gown with long matching gloves and stood beside a formally set table. Candlelight reflected off the gilded rims of the china plates and reflected in the crystal goblets while casting Amelia in a soft glow.

Jake’s heart expanded, filling his chest fully. She truly was his angel on earth.

Amelia extended her hand with an inviting smile. “Please, come inside.”

He passed the table set for two to reach her.

Daniel gestured toward the clergyman. “Allow me to introduce the Vicar of Trinity Church in Dunstable. Mr. Ramsey has agreed to perform the ceremony.”

“Ceremony?”

Amelia squeezed Jake’s hand and lifted her pretty face toward him. “There is nothing to impede our marriage on ship, so Captain Hillary tells me. As long as we have the vicar to officiate.”

Jake grinned, probably somewhat foolishly. “You’re far from home, Mr. Ramsey.”

“As are you,” the vicar answered. “Your brother provided me with passage many months back. Family commitments required my attention.”

Daniel shrugged. “I’d hoped Mr. Ramsey would still be in New Orleans, and that I would be able to locate him. I couldn’t be certain he’d agree to return to England, but as luck would have it, his commitments in New Orleans have ended.”

Mr. Ramsey crossed his arms over his chest. “And what a generous donation Captain Hillary has made to the Church of England to provide for my needs on the journey.” The vicar raised his eyebrows, apparently waiting for a response from Jake.

“Oh. Well, perhaps you would accept a sizable donation from me as well. We cannot allow a respected member of the clergy to go without the
basics
needed for survival.”

Mr. Ramsey beamed. “Indeed, Mr. Hillary. You are a generous soul.”

Jake glanced at Amelia. Hell. He would give half his fortune if it meant he could have her for his wife tonight.

“This is truly what you desire?” he asked her. “Our wedding onboard?”

“Very much.”

“Then we have no reason to waste any more of Mr. Ramsey’s time. Shall we?”

Facing one another, they waited to repeat their vows. Amelia’s clear blue eyes held his gaze.

Mr. Ramsey cleared his throat. “Please repeat after me. I, Jacob James Hillary, take you Amelia Catherine Caine née Barton, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward.”

Jake echoed the vicar’s words, offering his promise of protection and love to Amelia forever. A thick lump formed in his throat as she looked on him with love. “For better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.”

Nothing but death
could
ever separate them. Jake would fight off the hounds of hell before anything kept them apart again.

Amelia spoke her vows without wavering. “To love and to cherish from this day forward until death do us part,” she finished, tears welling up in her eyes.

Mr. Ramsey grinned. “I now pronounce you man and wife.”

Jake kissed his beautiful wife chastely before turning to accept Daniel’s handshake.

His brother thwacked his back as he pumped his hand before sweeping Amelia into his arms and placing a noisy smack on her cheek. She giggled like a young girl, setting Jake’s teeth on edge. His brother should find his own damned wife.

“Yes, my days in New Orleans were a hardship,” Mr. Ramsey interjected as if someone had posed a question to him about his experiences. “I didn’t enjoy the luxuries of home. In fact, I—”

Daniel clamped a meaty hand on the vicar’s shoulder and guided him toward the door. “Then you must join me in my quarters for dinner. I shall open one of the finer vintages I carried from England.”

Jake smiled his gratitude as his brother removed the chattering man from their cabin.

Amelia glanced at Jake from beneath her wispy lashes. “I requested our meal be served here. Would you like to partake?”

Jake chuckled under his breath. He would definitely like to partake, but not of the dishes spread on the table. But a few more minutes wouldn’t be the death of him. Besides, Amelia required more sustenance these days.

“I would love to sample the fine dishes you’ve chosen.” He held her chair out, and she lowered onto the padded seat, her movements fluid and graceful.

He examined the plush scarlet counterpane covering their bed and the expensive dinnerware. “You’ve been shopping for our quarters.”